Britain's Got Bhangra, London

The first British bhangra musical of its kind gets its world premiere at Stratford East, which has long been associated with new musicals (its reggae show The Harder They Come, from 2006, tours the UK from next month). Britain's Got Bhangra is composed by Sumeet Chopra, who has worked on Bollywood films and with bhangra stars such as the Dhol Foundation and Punjabi MC. It charts the success and influence of bhangra from the early-80s on British culture through the story of Twinkle, who arrives in London from the Punjab with the aim of brightening up a grey and unfriendly country with his music. The show stars Shin, lead vocalist of award-winning band DCS, and is choreographed by Andy Kumar.

Theatre Royal Stratford East, E15, Sat to 16 May

Mark Cook

Respect, Birmingham

Respect.

Four German teenagers set out for a day trip to Cologne. But what is supposed to be an enjoyable journey turns bad. By night time one of them is dead, one is seriously injured having been stabbed, and two of them are in police custody. What happened and why? It is down to police psychologist Kobert to find out. Based on a true life story of an honour killing, Lutz Hübner's 2005 play about intercultural confusions now gets its British premiere as part of a season of work at The Door exploring issues facing young people today. In Germany, the play caused controversy because of its sensitive subject matter, and it was banned when it was due to play in Hagen, a town close to where the real murder had happened. Bans all over Germany followed, but it is unlikely to cause such a reaction here.

The Door, Thu to 8 May

Lyn Gardner

Peter Pan, Glasgow

Peter Pan.

Flying into the King's before heading for London's Barbican and out on a Scottish tour, John Tiffany's revival of JM Barrie's play comes in a new version by David Greig that relocates the action from Edwardian London to a gas-lit Victorian Edinburgh, while also introducing the idea of a Highland Neverland inspired by Barrie's own childhood in Kirriemuir. With this team behind it, including a folk-influenced score from Davey Anderson, there is no reason why the changes shouldn't work. Indeed, since its 1904 premiere, Barrie's play has undergone numerous revisions: in the initial production, the role of Hook was quite a small one and was only developed further later, a move that changed the emphasis on Peter and made him seem less anarchic and more heroic. But in whatever form, Peter Pan has always been a huge hit with audiences, and this revival is unlikely to buck the trend.

Mrs Reynolds And The Ruffian, Watford

Mrs Reynolds And The Ruffian. Photograph: Clare Tam-Im

Jay is a local tearaway, a teenager out of control; Mrs Reynolds is an old lady who is scared in her own home. These media stereotypes of marauding youth and terrified little old ladies are tackled this new play from Gary Owen, one of the most naturally gifted writers around. Brought together through a restorative justice scheme, the two forge a relationship that is complex and potentially life-changing. Owen has vast experience of working with teenagers, and is currently writing a play about Bridgend, where a number of young people have killed themselves over the last couple of years. Former Bill actor, Trudie Goodwin, stars.

Watford Palace, to 8 May

Lyn Gardner

A Northern Odyssey, Newcastle upon Tyne

A Northern Odyssey. Photograph: Larry Saunder

After the success of Lee Hall's Pitmen Painters, which has toured all over and graced the National Theatre, thoughts turn once again to art in Newcastle, where the Tynemouth-born playwright Shelagh Stephenson is considering the life and career of 19th-century US artist Winslow Homer. In the 1880s, Homer, already a leading US artist, visited the small artists' colony of Cullercoats, a windswept fishing village a few miles from the fashionable resort of Tynemouth. It was supposed to be a brief visit, but he stayed for 18 months, creating some of his most famous paintings of the local people as they worked. Shelagh Stephenson, whose previous works include An Experiment With An Airpump and The Memory Of Water, investigates why he stayed in a play about artists and outsiders that is directed by Max Roberts.

Live Theatre, Thu to 22 May

Lyn Gardner

Pressure Drop, London

Pressure Drop. Photograph: Wellcome Images

With an election looming, it seems appropriate that singer-songwriter Billy Bragg is popping up on the theatre scene, starring with his band in the first production by the Wellcome Collection at its gallery space. Written by Mick Gordon, it questions what makes us who we are, looking at individual, family, social and political influences. Described as "part play, part gig and part installation", it features three generations of a white, working-class English family struggling to define themselves.

Wellcome Collection, NW1, Mon to 12 May

Mark Cook

Canary, Liverpool

Canary. Photograph: Helen Warner

Jonathan Harvey, who made an unforgettable debut at the Bush back in 1993 with Beautiful Thing, is back with a new play that looks at the lives and loves of one family spanning the 1960s to the present day. BAFTA award-winner Hettie Macdonald, who directed the original stage production of Beautiful Thing, is reunited with Harvey for this portrait of changing individuals and attitudes towards sexuality, which begins in 1960s Liverpool where two lovers must hide their feelings.

Liverpool Playhouse, Fri to 15 May

Lyn Gardner

The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia? Edinburgh

The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia? Photograph: Laurence Winram

There is a lot of kidding around in Edward Albee's play about a successful, decent and happily married Manhattan architect who confesses that he has fallen in love with a goat and is sleeping with her. Not surprisingly, his wife becomes vengeful and his gay teenage son is more confused than he was already. For all the comic gags and jokes, however, this is a deadly serious piece that has Greek tragedy of the Oedipus mode in mind rather than mere bestiality. It is about the complexities of love and sex and fear of death – as well about the betrayals of our friends and of ourselves. The London production starred the mighty Jonathan Pryce and still couldn't quite lift this from tragicomedy to fully fledged and devastating modern Greek tragedy, but director Dominic Hill may be able to work his magic on a bracing play that has the potential to be both farcical and also moving.